Paraic Duffy has recommended discontinuing the U21 football championship in a bid to end player burnout.

If the Monaghan man's bold new proposals are rubber-stamped, the minor intercounty grade will also be changed from U18 to U17.

The director general of the GAA launched a discussion paper on Player Overtraining and Burnout and the GAA Fixtures Calendar at Croke Park this morning, listing a number of proposals that could ease the increasing pressure on intercounty players at the younger end of the scale.

The two main concerns being addressed are the pressure being placed on players between the ages of 17 and 21 "who are being asked to train too much, to play too many matches for too many teams and are afforded too little time for rest and recovery" and the absence of a "fair, evenly-distributed and planned schedule of club matches throughout the year due to the scheduling of inter-county fixtures".

The full list of proposals - which would be introduced in 2017 and 2018 - is as follows:

1. Re-grade the inter-county minor grade from U18 to U17.

2. Play the new minor championships alongside the senior championships as is currently the case.

3. Discontinue the U21 football inter-county championship.

4. Conclude the All-Ireland U21 hurling inter-county championship before the senior final.

5. Increase the number of national league weekends, doubling up football and hurling fixtures.

6. Discontinue the AFL Division 1 semi-finals.

7. Establish in rule that players, who are not in the match-day panel of 26 must be available to their clubs on the weekends of intercounty games.

8. Bring forward the senior All-Irelands by two weeks with the hurling final on the second Sunday of August and the football final played on the first Sunday in September.

9. Play extra time at the end of all drawn championship matches.

10. Discontinue the All-Ireland inter-county junior football and intermediate hurling championships.

11. Introduce a calendar-year fixtures schedule.

Tweet

Most Read Stories